Women’s Soccer Overcomes Early Blemish to Down Cerritos

TORRANCE, Calif. --- El Camino College opened South Coast Conference action with a 3-1 comeback victory over visiting Cerritos on Tuesday afternoon at the ECC Soccer Field.

Bella Baligad, Gabriella De La Cruz and Angelica Taylor all scored for the Warriors (7-2-1, 1-0-0) as they overcame an early goal by the Falcons (2-5-1, 0-1-0) to score the victory.

Karlee Clark made three saves in net to score the victory with Taylor, De La Cruz and Alexis Perez-Fonseca all recorded assists.

The match started off on the wrong note for ECC as the Falcons found the back of the net in the fifth minute as Katie Alexander fired a shot from just outside the 18-yard box that kept rising and sailed over Clark's extended mitt and into the net for a quick 1-0 hole for the Warriors.

The match stayed that way until the 35th minute when Baligad was sprung for a breakaway on the right side after a brilliant pass from Taylor. Baligad then beat the goalkeeper one-on-one to tie things up and that's how it stayed going into halftime.

The Warriors took the lead in the 63rd minute after De La Cruz fired a header off the goalkeepers' right hand and into the crossbar. De La Cruz pounced on the rebound and stuffed it into the net for a 2-1 lead.

Taylor would add the insurance in the 73rd minute as De La Cruz sent a perfect ball from the Warriors' defensive zone down the middle to a rushing Taylor, who outran the Falcons' back line and then beat the keeper for a 3-1 lead and the Warriors never looked back.

The Warriors will return to action on Friday evening with a late start against L.A. City. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m.